The fourth edition of the European Young Olympic Ambassador (EYOA) Programme is taking place this week in Vuokatti, during the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF).

Organised under the auspices of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Culture and Education Commission, the EYOA programme aims to promote and strengthen the Olympic Values of excellence, friendship, and respect amongst the young athletes participating at the EYOF.

“We are trying to teach the young athletes here about the Olympic Values,” explained one of this year’s ambassadors, Peter Murphy from Luxembourg. “The programme helps athletes understand why the Olympic Values are important, not just what they are, and that winning is just one part of competing in elite level sport,” added EYOA alumni Rebekka Dahl, who is an world level ju-jitsu athlete from Denmark.

The EYOA Programme invests in a group of young people who are inspired by sport and the Olympic Values and wish to contribute in building a strong value-based foundation for the international sporting community. In Vuokatti, there are over 20 young people involved in the programme, split into alumni and ambassadors. The ambassadors are new to the programme and are responsible for creating and implementing activities, which the alumni oversee using their experience from previous editions.

The EYOA brings together young people aged 18-25, some of whom hail from an elite sporting background, and all of whom share the same passion, energy, motivation and desire to inspire young athletes to follow the Olympic Values on and off the field.

Jan Steinmueller, who is an EYOA ambassador from Germany, explained, “It is important to engage with young athletes and pass on the experiences we have as both athletes and in our personal lives. The programme helps promote the Olympic Values of excellence, friendship, and respect, not just on the field, but off it too.”

A dedicated area in the EYOF Vuokatti 2022 Athlete Village is allowing the young stars of the event to enjoy some fun downtime activities, whilst also engaging with athletes from other countries and learning valuable skills as an athlete and person. The activities include quizzes, a photo competition, and the EYOF human bingo, which requires athletes to complete various entertaining tasks around the Village. All young athletes receive prizes for participating in the programme.

The EYOA programme also helps develop the skills of the alumni and ambassadors, many of whom wish to pursue a career as a future sports leader. “I’m working on designing the educational games that the athletes take part in, explained Peter Murphy. “The alumni have given great support to the new ambassadors, but we are also given a good amount of freedom to come up with ideas that we think would resonate with young athletes.”

Alumni Mirjana Ivkovic, who works for the Serbian Olympic Committee, shared how she is learning new skills and getting new experiences that will continue help her in her career. She is leading the EYOA’s social media campaigns, and explained how, “the focus is mostly on using the platforms that young people use, which are Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. Understanding how young people communicate is very important, so we can ensure they are engaging with the content we share online, as well as in the Athlete village.”

The programme is led by the Vice Chair of the EOC Culture and Education Commission Clea Papaellina has ambitious plans for the EYOA, especially as the world emerges from the pandemic. “We wish to continue this Programme and implement it in all upcoming EYOFs trying on each edition to make it better and take it to the next level!”